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St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Christian Church
Publish Date: 2021-05-23
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St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Christian Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (619) 297-4165
  • Fax:
  • (619) 297-4181
  • Street Address:

  • 3655 Park Boulevard

  • San Diego, CA 92103


Contact Information






Services Schedule

Sunday Services

Orthros/Matins: 8:30am

Divine Liturgy: 10:00am


Past Bulletins


St. Spyridon Parish News, Events, Activities and Announcements

Special General Assembly - This Sunday, May 23rd Directly Following the Divine Services

Please join us for our Special General Assembly, this Sunday, May 23rd.  We will further discuss the unsolicited offer by a Commercial Broker to list a portion of our church property and what the future could look like in the years to come. 

The agenda and an information packet have been mailed to your home. You can also visit the front page of our website www.stspyridon.org and click on the "Master Planning" tab for additional information.  Our website has extensive information about our past, present, and potential future of our faith community. We look forward to seeing you in the Hall, or on Zoom, or by phone for this important meeting.   

RSVP Signup for Sunday's Divine Services

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Risen!

As we continue to move toward some greater sense of normalcy in the coming weeks and month(s) ahead, and for the time being, we are still asking you to RSVP signup so that we can place you and/or your family in an assigned seat in our continued effort to keep everyone safe while we are seated inside the Sanctuary and/or our Church Fellowship Hall.  

Thus, we have created a familiar RSVP signup link below for the divine services of the Church.  This will allow us to exercise the six feet of physical distance required by San Diego county while inside our Sanctuary.  We are hopeful that change is in the not-so-distant future but, for now, this is the best system that has worked very well for our parish as we continue to move in a very positive direction - 

RSVP Signup Link -   https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4EA8A92BA7FF2-stspyridon

As a reminder, you can also RSVP signup from the front page of our website - www.stspyridon.org 

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, as you well know, we are currently, as a county, a parish, and a state in a much better position and in much better condition than we once were but we have just a little ways to go.  Thus, let's continue to pray that our current condition continues to increase and flourish as we ALL look toward greater normalcy in our communal lives and in our personal lives as well.  

Until then, your patience and understanding, your encouragement and support, and your love and concern have been, and continue to be much needed and much appreciated - Truly He has Risen, +A. 

Philoptochos Board Elections - This Sunday, May 23rd

Philoptochos Board Elections will be held this Sunday, May 23rd after the Divine Liturgy, in the Education Building. Please take a few minutes to cast your vote. Thank you! 

Calling All 2021 Graduating Seniors

We would like to recognize and honor our graduating seniors, both from High School and College/University. Please submit your name, the school that you are graduating from, your potential major, and any future plans (college, trade school, career choice, etc.). Call the church office at 619-297-4165 or email office@stspyridon.org at any time, but no later than Monday, June 14, 2021, for the July newsletter. 

Upcoming Memorials for May and June

Sunday, May 30th - Mary Giannos - 40 days

Sunday, June 27th - Stephanie Navrides - 1 year

Sunday, June 27th - Andreas Kyriakidis - 3 years 

Stewardship Corner 

As we enter a new Paschal season and greet you with the customary “Christ is Risen,” I am reminded that this is a season of renewal for all of us – and all our neighbors – and thus this is a season of “hope.” My own faith and hope have been buoyed by how well we, the faithful of Saint
Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, have done over the last 13 months: we have mitigated the pandemic through good health and safety practices; we have continued to have weekly Divine Services and Liturgies, and we have been good and faithful stewards of the parish and of the Church.

And for that, we are blessed, and we are deeply appreciative as the Stewardship Committee. We as a community have much to be thankful for this Paschal season. So, again, we say “THANK YOU.”

We ask you once again to take a moment to reflect on what our beloved church means to you as a sojourner seeking illumination and nurturance from our faith community and the effort it takes to provide a “safe harbor” for each of you - and your family and friends – and to be as “lights” in the larger community. 

So, take this opportunity to repledge yourself to the tangible wok of St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church and refresh your pledge to stewardship so we, the Stewardship Committee and the Parish Council, can continue to support the many and varied ministries of the Church. You may go online at www.stspyridon.org to make or fulfill your pledge online or call the church office at 619.297.4165 for their assistance.

With God’s Blessing - The Stewardship Committee thanks you in advance:

John Kalas, Chairperson                                      Fr. Andrew Scordalakis

Greek Festival Update

Christos Anesti!

I pray this message finds you healthy and blessed. Many of you have probably wondered if we would be able to put on a Greek Festival this year. To this end, a small group of dedicated volunteers have been meeting over the past two months to determine if this was something that we could achieve. Our initial hope was that we would be able to put together some type of festival even if it had to be a scaled-back version of our popular annual event. Due to the many challenges related to health and public safety, however, it was obvious fairly quickly that we would not be able to do anything resembling our normal festival, so we leaned towards a drive-through concept.

As the planning continued, the committee worked faithfully to balance the needs of the community, the long-standing reputation of our annual festival, and the news that the state would soon be relaxing safety restrictions. Unfortunately, as the committee strived to move forward, it became increasingly clear that the benefits of holding a hybrid event were easily outweighed by the risks of uncertainty and the possibility of damaging the proud reputation of our Greek Festival. Reluctantly, and after careful consideration, the committee concluded that a festival event of any type would not be possible.

As we move forward, let us keep our sights set on bringing back our Greek Festival in June of 2022.

Together in Christ,

Ben De La Riva, Festival Chair

Sunday School Updates

Our last day of Sunday School will be SundayMay 30, 2021. We will have fun class activities planned! Parents of graduating seniors, please email Julie Dennis at sundayschool.stspyridon@gmail.com so that we can properly honor their accomplishments!

Philoptochos Membership - Renew or Become a Member

Xristos Anesti! 

Hope you and your families had a blessed Pascha. We are reaching out in hopes of encouraging you to renew your membership or possibly become a potential new member. As a reminder, Philoptochos welcomes men and women over the age of 18. Your membership enables us to continue our good work throughout the year helping those in need, in our community, and beyond. 

To renew or join, please visit anthousa.org or send your payment to the church. Please see our attached flyer in the "Inserts & Fliers" section below for details.

Thank you for your continued support of St. Spyridon's Philoptochos. 

Melanie Anastopulos [(619) 218-9778, melanie@anastopulos.com]

Kelly Samouris [(619) 871-4702, nyckelly@cox.net]

Membership Chairs

Give Back 0.5% From “Amazon Smile” Foundation

We remind you to please participate in the AmazonSmile program.  When you shop on Amazon, the AmazonSmile Foundation will give back 0.5% of your purchase price to St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church.  That’s right, every eligible/registered purchase you or someone else makes at AmazonSmile 0.5% will be donated back to your parish!!!

It's quick and easy to register by visiting AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) and select “St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church” before you make your first purchase (be sure to select St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church - San Diego, California).    

For more information about AmazonSmile, go to http://smile.amazon.com/about 

We hope you’ll consider this easy way to support your beloved parish.  Everyone is eligible to participate so tell your friends and relatives and spread the word about this wonderful opportunity. 

Your Legacy and Your Church  

...to whom much is given; from them much more is required (Luke 12:48).  

Please remember to include your Saint Spyridon parish in your estate plan and bequest. 

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Inserts and Fliers

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Greek Orthodox Archdiocese News

Historic Solution to the Pension Plan of Clergy and Lay Employees Reached

04/15/2021

Today, in a historic vote, the Archdiocese Benefits Committee voted to secure the future of the “Pension Plan for Clergymen and Lay Employees of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.” After many months of diligent work, and with the loving support and leadership of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, the Committee voted to accept the amendments to the Pension Plan document that will improve the funding of the Plan and the protection of the vested benefits that are due to the members of the Plan.

Dates Announced for Ionian Village IV Next Summer Program - A Few Spots Still Available

05/12/2021

Under the guidance of the Holy Archdiocese, Ionian Village’s “IV Next” program will be offered July 25th - August 5th, 2021. The program will be for fully vaccinated young adults. Participants must be either ages 19-24, and/or students from the high school class of 2020 (even if only age 18). Anyone that does not meet that exact criteria, unfortunately, will not be permitted to register this summer. The price of IV Next for participants is $1,650.

Spotlight on Orthodox Families: Fr. Kosmas & Anna Kallis

05/18/2021

Mari & Despina interview Fr. Kosmas & Anna Kallis, a clergy couple who have been married for almost 8 years with 2 children (their youngest was born just weeks after this podcast was recorded). Fr. Kosmas & Anna discuss the joys of being seen by their children, the struggle with the loss of freedom in parenting, and how structuring/scheduling each week is important for marital connection.

Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church & National Shrine April 2021 Update

04/20/2021

My brothers and sisters: as you prepare to enter this Holy Week and encounter the Lord Risen from the dead, I ask you to pray with me for the completion of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine, and for the mission that this extraordinary Church will engage. When we behold Saint Nicholas risen form the ashes of 9/11, we will all rejoice in that day which the Lord has made!

Archbishop Elpidophoros Forms Advisory Committee on the Charter

04/23/2021

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America has formed the Advisory Committee on the Charter whose purpose is to solicit feedback and ideas from across the Archdiocese as to the future of the Archdiocese as a whole body of our Church in America.

“How-to” Green Your Parish, Episode 4: Learning from our Parishes – St. Anna, Roseville, CA

05/13/2021

This week’s “How-to” Green Your Parish episode features the parish of St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Roseville, California on “Learning from our Parishes.”

The Pension Solution Explained

04/23/2021

Last week, the Archdiocese Benefits Committee and the Archdiocese announced a historic solution to the Pension Plan issue. Today, Father Andreas Vithoulkas, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, and Elaine Allen, Treasurer of the Archdiocese, sit down with the Orthodox Observer to explain the details of this agreement, and exactly how it will work.

Bouras Foundation Awards Million Dollar Grant To Clergy Pension Fund

05/17/2021

The Archdiocese Benefits Committee (ABC) is pleased to announce a one-million-dollar grant from the Nicholas J. and Anna K. Bouras Foundation, Inc. to complete a promised pledge from Mr. Bouras prior to his falling asleep in the Lord.
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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Fifth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Luke 24:13-35

At that time, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see." And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.


Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Third Mode. Psalm 46.6,1.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
Verse: Clap your hands, all you nations.

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 9:32-42.

In those days, as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints that lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed." And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, "Please come to us without delay." So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing tunics and other garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.


Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Paralytic
The Reading is from John 5:1-15

At that time, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever stepped in first after the troubling of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet." But he answered them, "The man who healed me said to me, 'Take up your pallet, and walk.' "They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your pallet, and walk'?" Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you." The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.


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Wisdom of the Fathers

In that case [Matt 9:2] there was remission of sins, (for He said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee,") but in this, warning and threats to strengthen the man for the future; "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you."
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 37 on John 1, 4th Century

Great is the profit of the divine Scriptures, and all-sufficient is the aid which comes from them ... For the divine oracles are a treasury of all manner of medicines, so that whether it be needful to quench pride, to lull desire to sleep, to tread under foot the love of money, ... from them one may find abundant resource.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 37 on John 5, 4th Century

For where tears are-- or rather, where miracles are, there tears ought not to be; not where such a mystery is celebrating. Hear, I beseech you: although somewhat of the like kind does not take place now, yet in the case of our dead likewise, a great mystery is celebrating. Say, if as we sit together, the Emperor were to send and invite some one of us to the palace, would it be right, I ask, to weep and mourn? Angels are present, commissioned from heaven and come from thence, sent from the King Himself to call their fellow servant, and say, dost thou weep? Knowest thou not what a mystery it is that is taking place, how awful, how dread, and worthy indeed of hymns and lauds? Wouldest thou learn, that thou mayest know, that this is no time for tears? For it is a very great mystery of the Wisdom of God. As if leaving her dwelling, the soul goes forth, speeding on her way to her own Lord, and dost thou mourn? Why then, thou shouldst do this on the birth of a child: for this in fact is also a birth, and a better than that.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 21 on Acts 9, 4th Century

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Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal First Mode

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and bestowing life on those in the graves.

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Third Mode

Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad, for the Lord has shown the power of his reign. He has conquered death by death and become the first born of the dead. He has delivered us from the depths of Hades and has granted the world great mercy.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Mode

Though You went down into the tomb, You destroyed Hades' power, and You rose the victor, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women, "Hail!" and granting peace to Your disciples, You who raise up the fallen.
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Saints and Feasts

Jcparal1
May 23

Sunday of the Paralytic

Close to the Sheep's Gate in Jerusalem, there was a pool, which was called the Sheep's Pool. It had round about it five porches, that is, five sets of pillars supporting a domed roof. Under this roof there lay very many sick people with various maladies, awaiting the moving of the water. The first to step in after the troubling of the water was healed immediately of whatever malady he had.

It was there that the paralytic of today's Gospel way lying, tormented by his infirmity of thirty-eight years. When Christ beheld him, He asked him, "Wilt thou be made whole?" And he answered with a quiet and meek voice, "Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool." The Lord said unto him, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." And straightaway the man was made whole and took up his bed. Walking in the presence of all, he departed rejoicing to his own house. According to the expounders of the Gospels, the Lord Jesus healed this paralytic during the days of the Passover, when He had gone to Jerusalem for the Feast, and dwelt there teaching and working miracles. According to Saint John the Evangelist, this miracle took place on the Sabbath.


Allsaint
May 24

Symeon the Stylite of the Mountain

Saint Symeon, the "New Stylite," was born in Antioch; John his father was from Edessa, and Martha his mother was from Antioch. From his childhood he was under the special guidance of Saint John the Baptist and adopted an extremely ascetical way of life. He became a monk as a young man, and after living in the monastery for a while he ascended upon a pillar, and abode upon it for eighteen years. Then he came to Wondrous Mountain, and lived in a dry and rocky place, where after ten years he mounted another pillar, upon which he lived in great hardship for forty-five years, working many miracles and being counted worthy of divine revelations. He reposed in 595, at the age of eighty-five years, seventy-nine of which he had passed in asceticism.


07_john2
May 25

Third Finding of the Precious Head of St. John the Baptist

Because of the vicissitudes of time, the venerable head of the holy Forerunner was lost for a third time and rediscovered in Comana of Cappadocia through a revelation to 'a certain priest, but it was found not, as before, in a clay jar, but in a silver vessel, and "in a sacred place." It was taken from Comana to Constantinople and was met with great solemnity by the Emperor, the Patriarch, and the clergy and people. See also February 24.


Allsaint
May 26

Carpos and Alphaeus, Apostles of the 70

This holy Apostle was numbered with the Seventy, and ministered unto the holy Apostle Paul, journeying with him and conveying his epistles unto those to whom they were written. He became Bishop of Beroea in Thrace, where he endured great tribulations while bringing many of the heathen to holy Baptism, and also suffered martyrdom there. Saint Paul mentions him in II Timothy 4:13.


Johnrussian
May 27

John the Russian of Evia

The Holy New Confessor John, a native of Russia, was captured during the Russian campaign against the Turks in 1711 and was thereafter sold into slavery in Asia Minor. In this condition he struggled to serve God in piety even while he served his earthly master in all that was needful. He remained steadfast in the Christian Faith in the face of the many enticements the Moslems provided to lure him to their error, and was granted the grace to work miracles by his prayers. He reposed in peace in 1730. His relics remained incorrupt and are found at New Procopion of Euboia in Greece.


Allsaint
May 28

The Holy Hieromartyr Eutychius, Bishop of Melitene

All information concerning this Martyr has been lost, except that he presented himself before the tyrants, mocked the idols, suffered many unspeakable torments, and was finally drowned in the sea.


Allsaint
May 29

Theodosia the Virgin-Martyr of Tyre

The holy Virgin Martyr Theodosia was born in Tyre of Phoenicia. At the age of eighteen she was seized in Caesarea of Palestine during a persecution and was brought before Urban the ruler. Because she refused to offer sacrifice to the idols, her sides and breasts were mercilessly scraped even to the inward parts and bones. She endured this in silence with astonishing courage. When Urban again asked her to sacrifice, she mocked him, and after being tormented even more horribly than before, she was cast into the sea in the year 308.


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